Zaharah grabbed the controls as water slammed into the side of the pod. The waves pushed against it, driving them further and further away from the Hurakan. Further from their family. She held tight to the controls, working the throttle to keep the pod steady, but if she pushed too hard, the propeller could burn out and they'd be tossed by the surf.

She turned the vessel and rode parallel with the waves. It took them farther away from the boat, but she had no choice. If the pod got damaged, they'd all be in danger. Damn it. She glanced at the display on the console and watched the boat shrink in the rear camera.

Tears pricked her eyes, and the rawness in her throat amplified. But she sucked it up. She sucked up all the grief and frustration welling up in her stomach and crawling down her back and stuffed it away in a vacant corner of her mind where it couldn't distract her. For now.

When they reached calmer waters, she popped the pod's lid, but all she could see was a thin stream of smoke and a hint of flickering orange on the horizon. The rank Atlantic air buffeted her face and chilled her skin.

And it was quiet, too quiet. To think an hour earlier, she'd been sitting in the kitchen with her mom and sisters bitching about her stupid contract. She swallowed and swiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. Get it together. She was the adult here. Quelle had easily taken charge back on the boat; now that responsibility fell on her.

Zaharah reached under her seat and fumbled around until her hand connected with a latch. Two survival suits and survival kit popped out. "Jade." Her sister was still curled up in her seat, face buried in the bag as though it could shut out the world. She didn't know what to say. That everything would be fine? It sure as hell didn't look like it.

"Jade put this on." She pushed the weighty square of fabric at her sister, but Jade didn't respond. "Look I this..." She wracked her brain for the right word, and couldn't find it. "It's a shitty situation but we can't lose our heads."

Jade raised her head and gave Zaharah a sour look. You suck at this.

Zaharah couldn't refute that, but it still stung. "Just put the damn suit on." She dropped it in Jade's lap. "Skorpi is this pod linked to the systems on the ship? Is there any way we can use it to contact them?"

"I can try." Skorpi hopped on the pod's console.

While he was busy with that, she stripped to her underwear and tugged on her survival suit. The thick rubbery material stuck to her and the oxygen canisters dug into her back. Or perhaps her injuries made her hypersensitive. She let the breathing apparatus dangle around her neck and pulled her hoodie back on.

The radar showed an island east of them. Denden, it was called. Zaharah had never heard of it, but the government had all kinds of floating hunks of metal drifting out in the water. Maybe there was someone in Denden who could help them.

Or they could go back. Circle the boat and try to find someone.

Zaharah bit her lip. "What do you think, Jade?" she asked. "Should we go back?"

"I would advise against that," Skorpi said.

I want to, but dad told us to get away from the boat, Jade signed. We should... She closed her hands into fists, her jaw set and eyes on the bag in her lap. I don't know. I wish Quelle was here.

"What if they need our help?" Zaharah stared out at the horizon, at the steady stream of smoke. The boat hadn't completely sunk yet.

Skorpi walked across the console, the patter of his legs filling the pod. "We should at least try to contact them first. I don't know the status of communications on the ship, but this should be the correct channel."

"Okay." Zaharah hit the button to open the line, and only static came through. "Hello? Hurakan are you there?"

No answer.

Her stomach dropped, and she swallowed the bile pooling in her mouth. "Dad? Quelle? Anyone?"

No answer.

What if they... She shook the thought from her mind before it could finish. No, they were fine. Quelle knew what she was doing. She'd get them out. They were probably somewhere out in the water, and they had survival suits.

"Jade and I are all right," she continued. "We washed up near some place called Denden Isle. We're at latitude 23.86 north and longitude 74.58 west. Just... let us know if y'all are okay."

Zaharah leaned back in her seat and let the silence flood in. Her leg shook as she watched the horizon, a line of black water topped with a starry, moonless sky. Were this a normal night, she would've gone up to the deck with her sketchbook and draw under the stars like a sad, starving artist.

She looked away from the smoke to the east. They'd drifted closer to the island, to Denden. The wall of metal stood meters away from them, and shipping containers peeked from the top.

Maybe people too? People who could help? Or loan them a better boat to go back. Or..."I can't take this. We're going back." Zaharah closed the lid and started the propellers again.

"Zaharah, please." Skorpi said. "We need to be smart about this. If there's a third explosion, it could damage the pod and we'll all be in trouble."

"What if they need our help? We need to go..." Her words trailed off when harsh white light cut through the window of the pod. She squinted and put a hand up to block out the harsh light before peering out Jade's window. Up on the metal wall was a robot, a bit like Skorpi if he was a thousand times his size. A spider, or a mantis, she couldn't quite tell with the glare of the light in her eyes. But what she took note of, were the guns mounted on its back.

Zaharah eased the throttle forward and the pod chugged away. Slow, as not to spook the robot. "The fuck is that thing?"

"A military robot. Model CR3-3PR," Skorpi said.

"A creeper? Here?" She had caught glimpses of them when they were in development, but they weren't supposed to be released into service for another six months.

The creeper's gun swivelled to face them, the barrel glaring like a sinister eye. Zaharah's heart leapt into her throat and she shoved the throttle. The vessel shot forward, but not fast enough to avoid getting a few bullet holes in its rear.

"Shit!" Skorpi yelled, his posh accent and manners going out the window. He jumped into Zaharah's lap and crawled into the pocket of her jacket. "Why is it shooting at us?"

"How the fuck should I know?" She glimpsed the rear camera and caught the creeper, crawling along the metal wall, hot on their heels. Another bullet slammed into the back and the pod slowed. Lights flared to life on the console, and a cacophony of beeps filled the carriage.

Damn thing took out one propeller and shot a hole in a battery. She needed to make a power move, or that monster would load them full of lead.

Zaharah pulled back the throttle and cut the power. The pod skipped on the waves before coming to a halt. Water climbed up the glass as they sunk into the Atlantic.

Skorpi popped his head out from her pocket. "What are you doing? If we sink below thirty feet we won't be able to get back up."

"I know." Zaharah said. She held her hand poised and ready to start the pod back up, while keeping her eyes on the pressure and depth monitor. They just needed to play possum long enough to convince the creeper it'd sunk their pod.

Fifteen feet. Only the gurgling sounds of the pod's slow descent filled the carriage. Jade sat rigid and silent, her eyes on her tightly clasped hands. Zaharah didn't know what words of comfort to offer her sister in such a difficult situation, which she could only describe as a maddening display of Murphy's law.

Twenty feet. She wished Quelle was here too. No doubt their older sister would have wrestled that damn creeper bare handed, ripped its head off and punted it into the sun.

Twenty-five feet. They need a contingency plan. Zaharah hit the power and the pod's whir filled the cabin once more. "Jade, if we get to the top and the creeper is still there, we jump into the water, okay?"

Jade gave a jerky nod without looking up.

"B-b-but I can't swim," Skorpi said.

Fifteen feet. Zaharah ignore Skorpi's whining and dug through their survival kit for some painkillers. Alongside the bandages and disinfectant gels and wipes was a selection of ibuprofen, acetaminophen and muscle relaxers. She popped an ibuprofen and swallowed it dry, then she strapped the kit to her back and took hold of the pod's controls.

Five feet. The lights from the ship yard danced on the black water above their heads like diamonds. And a gurgle filled the pod as it breached the surface.

"Ready?" Zaharah asked, and her sister gave a nod. She eased the pod forward at a snail's pace and squinted through the dark at the metal wall. No creeper. But with the pod damaged, they couldn't get back to the Hurakan, and they couldn't drift on the water until help came.

Zaharah swore. Now what? The survival suits would keep them afloat for six hours, but if that creeper came back, they couldn't out-swim it. She looked towards the island and spotted a ladder leading up to the shipyard.

Perhaps it was a military island. Or it belonged to the makana. In that case, there had to be someone there who could help them. They could invoke Nyah and Malaika's name.

"We're going up on the island. Maybe there's someone who can help us." Or a boat they could borrow to go look for their family. Zaharah veered the pod towards Denden and lined it up with the ladder. The lights on the console blinked fast enough to turn the inside into a mini rave. Damaged this, compromised that, it screamed.

Are you sure you can climb? Jade asked.

"I don't have a choice. You go first. If the creeper shows up we jump off into the water." She tucked Skorpi into the hood of her jacket and waited until Jade was on the ladder before cutting the power.

Getting to her feet was easy, just a pulsing pain here and there. Grabbing the ladder was no problem; the reach made her shoulder tweak, but the pain wasn't crippling. Climbing, however, brought her agony.

Zaharah winced at the pain shooting through her back and held fast to the ladder. Over her head, Jade climbed at a steady pace, and below her, the pod sunk into the black waters of the Atlantic. No turning back now.

"Are we almost there? I can't look," Skorpi asked from her hood.

She ignored his question and continued her ascent. With each rung she overcame, the other seemed a mile further above her. "Come on,' she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut to fight off the dizziness. And kept going. One step, then another, and another.

The next time she looked up, she didn't find a mile of rungs, but her sister's hands reaching over the guardrail to help her. And with Jade's help, she crawled over the rail, a panting and sweaty mess.

You okay? Jade pressed a bottle of water in her hands and she sucked it down as fast as she could swallow. Even double overtime on the sand pitch hadn't left her in such a sorry state.

"Yeah. Skorpi, I need to try to connect with something around here. Try to figure out if there's anyone here."

He crawled out from her hood and perched on her shoulder. "I'm on it."

Zaharah pushed to her feet and scanned the stacks of containers, yet saw no sign of the creeper. Still, her stomach was heavy with dread. If they weren't careful, that thing would kill them, but at least up here they could run. "Let's move."

They started through the maze of containers, at a brisk walk. They stood one story high stacked one on top of the other, giving the shipyard a pseudo cityscape vibe. Floodlights mounted on poles shined down on them and stretched their shadows long. Someone had to be there. Controlling the—

Jade grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of her thoughts and into the shadow of a container. Zaharah was about to yell, but then she heard it, the whir of gears and the tap tap tap of metal feet. The creeper. Shit. She swallowed and hazarded a peek around the corner.

The thing towered over the stacks, all sleek black and white metal. It had looked much smaller when she'd seen it on the wall. The guns mounted on its back pointed upward, and they looked powerful enough to shoot down stars. Red eyes cut through the night as it swivelled its head this way and that.

"Jesus Christ," Skorpi breathed. "We're dead. We're fucking dead."

Zaharah couldn't disagree with that sentiment. She pressed the back of her head against the cool metal container. Damn it, what now? Past the next few containers was a garage with a wind-worn galvanised roof and its shutter halfway down. Maybe someone was in there. Or they could use it to hide until help came.

She tapped Jade of the shoulder and pointed to the garage. The gap between the container they stood behind and the next one over was about ten feet and from there, it was another thirty feet to the garage. They could clear it fast, without catching the creeper's attention.

Or so Zaharah hoped. She peaked around the corner and found the creeper with its attention on the other end of the shipyard. She took jade by the hand and they scurried from one shadow to the next, the floodlights casting their shadows against the ground.

Zaharah exhaled a breath when she pressed her back against the next container. Her heart pounded against her ribs and a fine sheen of sweat broke out on her skin. She almost didn't want to peep around the corner. The mechanical whirs of the creeper's movements were louder now, and in her head, it was already on top of them, peering down with red eyes.

Jade tapped her on the shoulder. It's not looking at us. Should we both go? Or one at a time?

Damn, her sister was braver than her. You stay here, Zaharah signed to Jade. I'll get to the garage and circle around back to distract the creeper so you can run. Okay?

Jade bit her lip, brows drawing together tight. Okay, but be careful.

Zaharah nodded and checked on the creeper herself. Still distracted. She pushed off the container and made break for the garage. Her long strides ate up the distance, bare feet making muted slaps against the ground.

"Oh, shit!" Skorpi squealed. "Zaharah, this bitch is flying!"

Red light fell over her, and a whirring noise roared in her ears. Zaharah's heart quickened and her feet faltered, sending her stumbling forward. She glanced over her shoulder and found the creeper poised in the air over her head, its guns spinning so fast, the barrels were a blur. Instinctively her arms went up to protect her head, to protect it from the onslaught of bullets.

But it never came.

The red light dimmed, the whirring stopped, and a mountain of metal crashed on top of her.